


The Nightmarish Truth

by LittleSweetCheeks



Series: If I'd Known... I never... [4]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Flashbacks, Hospital Visit, In A Bad Place, Nighmares, so much pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 18:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15176678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleSweetCheeks/pseuds/LittleSweetCheeks
Summary: He wasn't capable of killing someone with his bare hands... Right?





	The Nightmarish Truth

Beth sat on the gurney picking at the dried blood under her finger nails. The blood was her own, from her split lip or the gash near her ear though, she wasn’t sure.

“Hey.” A soft voice spoke from the doorway, making the brunette look up.

She just nodded, fresh tears welling up as the blonde silently crossed the room and sat with her on the bed, taking her hands in her own.

“Did you call anyone?” JJ’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“No.” Beth’s voice caught. “I take it Aaron called you?”

“Not so much.” When dark eyes met hers, she gave a sad smile. “Hotch gave his own name when he checked you in and that sort of thing… well, Penelope is a bit paranoid.” She bit her lip. “So, I was already up and on my way when Will called me from his shift.”

“Your husband?” Beth wracked her brain. “The cops are involved?”

“FBI agent brings in his girlfriend in the middle of the night, beaten and bleeding? Yes, Sweetie, the cops got called out.”

The pieces began falling into place, Beth hadn’t seen Aaron in several hours, not since she’d been brought to this room. A room that was in a quieter that normal area of the ER… past a locked door. “Oh.”

JJ simply held her hands, not pressing.

“No one’s going to believe me.”

“Believe you?”

“Aaron was… He was asleep… He was having a nightmare.”

She gave the hands in hers a squeeze. “What makes you believe that?”

“He was talking, mumbling. He said… He said, ‘ _You’ll only get them over my dead body_ ’ and that’s when the worst of it started.” Tears tracked down her cheeks. “It hurt, I was so scared… There was this vacant look on his face as he was over me, slamming me back into the pillows. He had his teeth ground together so hard, he probably has a horrible headache now.” She drew a ragged breath. “Then he, he punched me. It was scary, you know, but it’s not like Aaron has it within him to kill me with his bare hands, even in his sleep.”

JJ’s brows furrowed. “Beth… Did you and he ever…Was how Jack’s mom died ever brought up?”

Beth was confused now. “Yeah, a while ago. She was killed by someone.”

“Did he ever talk to you about what happened to the person who killed her?”

The brunette shook her head. “Should…should he have told me?”

JJ nodded again. “I think it’s a story you need to hear, but it’s not my place to tell it. I wasn’t there.”

Movement in the doorway had both women looking up to see a very worried looking Dave, dressed in jeans and a polo, walking toward them. “Hey.” He greeted gently. “I just talked to Will, he and his partner are going to want to talk to you in a minute, are you ready for them?”

“I- I guess. Where’s Aaron?”

Dave exchanged a look with JJ.

“What?” Beth pressed.

“They’ve had to take him upstairs for a bit. Jessica has Jack and will look after him for now. Garcia was pulling any paperwork and Morgan and Reid are headed in to work to get the information to the director before the rumor super-highway does it.”

She was confused now. “I don’t understand.”

Rossi looked to JJ as the blonde spoke directly to him. “She doesn’t know about the day, about how it ended.”

Understanding crossed his face. “And you’re thinking that’s what this is all about?”

JJ nodded. “I think so.” She moved from the bed as Dave approached and took her spot, he held Beth’s hands as he gave her a brief rundown of the pertinent parts of that day.

When he finished, Beth was staring at the two of them, horrified. “He could have killed me.”

Dave winced but nodded. “In theory, yeah.”

“Could you tell us what you guys did before you went to sleep that night? What was your evening routine, was there anything new or out of the ordinary?” JJ asked.

“I’m not sure… I came over after he got home, we had dinner with Jack, it was spaghetti and garlic bread. Jack asked if I could give him his bath and Aaron stood in the doorway watching with this soft smile on his face. After Jack went to bed, I found Aaron standing in the living room with a glass of scotch.” She thought a moment. “I’m not sure I’ve seen him drink scotch before last night. Beer and a few other things, but not…not that.”

“Do you know how much he had?” Dave wondered.

“I’m not even sure he finished the one glass. Once I came in, he set it aside and I can’t remember him ever picking it up again.”

“And after that?”

“We went to the…” She trailed off, blushing at the memory of what happened next. These weren’t just agents, these were Aaron’s friends, by extension, her friends she supposed. “Um…”

Taking in her blush, Dave rose with a nod. “I’m going to get a coffee, I’ll be right back.”

Once the door was closed, Beth turned to JJ. “We played, in bed. He’s always more eager after I’ve been doing things with Jack. I guess seeing me with his son does it for him.”

JJ couldn’t help the smile this time. “Classic alpha male behavior, seeing the woman he loves with his offspring.”

“You think so?”

“That Hotch is alpha? Hotch is like…king of alpha.” She giggled. “So, you guys played around?”

“I guess we were like, fighting for dominance a bit? I teased him a bit.” She blushed deeper. “One minute he was ready and then the next…” She trailed off.

JJ really wished pretty much anyone else was in the room right now discussing her boss and friend’s sex life with his girlfriend but herself. “I have an odd question. What position were the two of you in when that happened?”

Beth’s brow furrowed but she answered. “I was sitting on him, he was on his back on the bed.”

The blonde sighed. “Okay.” She started to stand.

“Wait, JJ, I don’t understand.”

“There might have been a flashback triggered before the two of you went to sleep. Without talking to Hotch, it’s hard to know.” She turned and waved Dave in when he knocked. “When Will and his partner come down, tell them everything from when you arrived after work, don’t feel you need to hide anything. Penelope will have the names of some support groups for you tomorrow maybe, okay?”

“But, I want to talk to Aaron. I haven’t seen him since they brought me back here.”

“You’ll be able to talk to him, Beth, but it’s going to be a few days.” Dave answered.

“What?”

“Aaron’s upstairs. On a psych hold. They’re going to be keeping him there through the weekend.”

“Why?”

The two agents shared a look, the blonde shook her head. Dave drew a breath anyway. “Aaron was a bit emotional after they brought you back to the room and after staff talked to him for a bit, it was decided that it was for the best.”

Fresh tears started down Beth’s face. “If I’d known last night, I swear I never would have done anything that would have intentionally triggered this.” She sobbed. “What have I done?”

JJ wrapped her arms around the distraught woman, making eye contact with Rossi over the top of her head. What Dave had told Beth about Hotch’s current situation had been grossly underplayed. She knew from Will that their boss was upstairs because he had attempted to take his own life, but that would be a conversation though for another day.


End file.
